US commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, surged during the week ended Oct. 28 with an increase of 14.4 million bbl compared with the previous week’s total. The higher-than-expected jump is the largest in 34 years in US Energy Information Administration data.
The agency’s Weekly Petroleum Status Report indicates crude inventories, now totaling 482.6 million bbl, remain at the upper limit of the average range for this time of year.
Analysts surveyed by The Wall Street Journal prior to the report’s release expected an increase of merely 1 million bbl.
For the week ended Oct. 21, EIA reported a 600,000-bbl decline (OGJ Online, Oct. 26, 2016).
Separate data from the American Petroleum Institute showed a 9.3 million-bbl jump during the week ended Oct. 28.
EIA also reported that total motor gasoline inventories during the week ended Oct. 28 fell 2.2 million bbl, but are well above the upper limit of the average range. Both finished gasoline inventories and blending components inventories decreased last week.
Distillate fuel inventories last week dropped 1.8 million bbl, but are well above the upper limit of the average range for this time of year. Propane-propylene inventories rose 300,000 bbl, and are near the upper limit of the average range. Total commercial petroleum inventories increased 9 million bbl.
US crude refinery inputs during the week ending Oct. 28 averaged 15.4 million b/d, down 104,000 b/d from the previous week’s average. Refineries operated at 85.2% of their operable capacity.
Gasoline production decreased slightly to 9.8 million b/d, while distillate fuel production increased to 4.7 million b/d.
US crude imports averaged 9 million b/d, up 2 million b/d from the previous week’s average. Over the last 4 weeks, crude imports averaged 7.7 million b/d, an increase of 7% from the same 4-week period last year.
Total motor gasoline imports, including both finished gasoline and gasoline blending components, averaged 458,000 b/d. Distillate fuel imports averaged 60,000 b/d last week.
